Letters of Rec crisis/who to ask

kgiselle777

Hey y'all. I was hoping anyone could give me some advice or insight on how to pick a professor to write a letter of rec.

I had already picked my two professors for letters of rec and sent out emails to ask if they could write the letters for me. They are both professors that I was a research assistant for during my time in undergrad. They both got back to me and told me yes, however one of the professors wrote to me that I should also get letters of rec from professors who had me in their classes.

This completely stressed me out because I thought I had my letters of rec all figured out and done but now I'm spiraling and trying to figure out if it will look bad if my two letters of rec are from professors I did research with and were not in their classes.

So I guess overall my question is if it's okay if I have two strong letters of rec from professors I was a research assistant for (and they're both political science professors so within my major, and one of them is the dean of the social science department) or will it look bad that they're not professors who had me in their class.

Thanks!

letslearntogether

If I was you, I would try to have one from you a professor who had you in their class. That doesn't mean you can't use the two research ones as well!

Law schools may be interested in hearing about you as a student and you affect the learning of your peers. There are some qualities that someone will only know if they have you in a class.

Don't stress -- you already have two great recs lined up

brooke.cushing.hemingway

Depending on the school, you could submit all 3 if you're concerned about getting rid of one of your existing letters. But I agree with letslearntogether above - you may get an important perspective from a professor you were in a class with that would add more to your application then two letters that restate the same ideas.

kanizzzzzz

I would aim for at least 1 LOR from a professor, but you should also include the research professors as well!